Samuel Deressa

Dr. Samuel Deressa began teaching part-time at Concordia in 2016 and joined the faculty full-time in 2018. Previously, he was a member of the Faculty of Theology (Gudina Tumsa Chair for Justice), 2008-2011, at the Mekane Yesus Seminary, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Deressa teaches courses on Global Christianity, Scripture and its Interpretation, Christian Vocation, and Christianity and the Media.

Deressa’s recent published works include Forming Leaders for the Public Church: Vocation in 21st -Century Societies (London: Fortress Academic Press, 2023), which he co-edited with Mary Sue Dreier; Leadership Formation in the African Context: Missional Leadership Revisited (Eugene, Origen: Wipf and Stock, 2022); He has also written numerous articles for books and journals on Christianity in the Global South. He is a member of American Society of Missiology, International Association for Mission Studies, African Society of Evangelical Theology, and Lutheran Society of Missiology.

Deressa enjoys strong Ethiopian coffee, spending time with his three children, dabbling in video creation and traveling.

Academic Focus: Theology of Mission; World Christianity; Christian Leadership; Christian-Muslim relations; and development studies.